Bank levy may double

Smer wants one third of bank's profit.

Smer chair Robert Fico's plan to increase a bank levy has been approved by the government on November 6, 2019Smer chair Robert Fico's plan to increase a bank levy has been approved by the government on November 6, 2019 (Source: Sme)

Smer chair Robert Fico has jumped on the pre-election campaign trail with zeal, announcing that banks should pay more to the state budget.

The bank levy, introduced in 2012 to protect the banking sector from crises and expected to end by the end of 2020, currently stands at 0.2 percent of the value of banks’ liabilities lowered by the amount of equity. Instead of ending the levy next year, the government approved its continuation at its November 6 session.

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Moreover, the levy will double to 0.4 percent, meaning that banks will pay €144 million more to the state next year, the TASR newswire reported.

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